Abstract
By May 2008, the number of FSC-CoC certificates issued in Japan came to 697, the third in the world. Pulp and paper products companies constitute about 80% of the total certificates holders. The tendency opposes the worldwide one which has seen timber industry occupies the majority. The purpose of this report is to reveal the rapid development of FSC-CoC certificates in Japan, and to consider the problems and future prospects of it. In the early stage, large paper companies played leading rolls, that is, certificates of them have affected their affiliates and customers. While the industry have taken action on a certificate since 2001, it was not until around 2004 that certified paper products started to be publicly recognized as environmental-friendly paper other than recycled paper. The movement toward certificate in suppliers such as many large paper companies and wholesalers, coupled with recent increasing consumers' (mainly business enterprises) interests in certified products, led to the surge in certificates of printing company or retailer. However, in addition to the fact that FSC isn't well known to consuming public, it is most likely that paper products certified by several different forest certificate schemes will arrive on the market in the near future. Certified companies will need to publicize the meaning and difference of each certificate scheme for developing the new market and avoiding confusion for consumers.
